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Melee (from the French mêlée), or sometimes referred to as "brawl", generally refers to disorganized close combat involving a group of fighters. A melee ensues when groups become locked together in combat with no regard to group tactics or fighting as an organized unit; each participant fights as an individual. More info.

In games, melee can very well be organised combat, the main thing it's CLOSE combat. It's the opposite of ranged attacks, and generally mean that the character or monster that is within "melee range" can be attacked by others in melee range.

The word melee will also apply when a combatant use a spell or spell-like ability to damage her opponent while being in such a close vicinity to it that it could hurt her back in turn. Some melee attacks use an Area of Effect instead of a single individual as target.